It's been just a regular Saturday here. I probably would not have given it a second thought except that we are hitting the stage where the handwriting is on the wall. With a projected return date to North America set at April or early May next year, we have realised that our time in Australia is slipping away all too quickly. In many ways, I suspect that the months ahead will not be easy ones. My hope is that we will be able to make the most of them and celebrate the time that we have left.
Our day started off with a Ross specialty, bacon and egg sandwiches hot of the press just before we ran out the door for netball and soccer. I did the netball run this morning. The change in Sophie's team from the beginning of the season is nothing short of extraordinary. The players have gone from being afraid of the ball and almost panicking when it came into their possession to passing it down the court with the precision of a military machine. They seem to read each other's thoughts (and those of the opposing team), positioning themselves in just the right places to pass and score. As the ball sailed through the net time and time again, I began to secretly cheer for the opposition. Sadly for them, they lost 30 nil. Our coach told us that this very same team trounced us just a few weeks ago.
Meanwhile James was also experiencing annhilation, although the other way around. His team always seems to be playing older, more experienced players. He has become resigned to losing every week, but even so he played goalie with full heart and soul. Ross said he did very well considering the circumstances.
From the sports runs, we met up for the wonderful ritual of morning tea at one of our favorite bakeries before starting the round of regular Saturday chores: haircuts, food shopping, and the all-important search for birthday presents. Our local bookstore has come to know me quite well, and they usually offer to gift wrap the books for me as all too often we are rushing in just minutes before a party starts.
At one of the shopping stops we ran into a family we know quite well from cricket. A few minutes later James ran into a classmate, and later on, in a very different part of the city, Ross happened upon a work colleague out for a walk. What a difference from three years ago when Melbourne felt full of strangers.
We still relish the ability to walk to all of these spots from our house, even in the fickle Melbourne spring weather. Today is one of those 'jacket-on/jacket-off' kind of days. The sun shines brilliantly for a few moments, just long enough for outer layers to be removed, only to be followed by a gust of icy wind and a few rain drops.
After lunch Ross and I walked back out again, because somehow in all of the flurry of shopping, we missed out on one essential thing. We took a different route, and were lucky enough to happen upon a house auction. I wrote about an auction just over three years ago. They still fascinate us, and this one was no exception. We arrived just in time for the exciting part, after I had dilly dallied taking photos of beautiful front gardens along the way with the camera on my iphone.
By the time I arrived at the auction, the bidding had stalled. The auctioneer paused the proceedings and went inside the house to discuss the situation with the owners. They must have told him that they weren't going to accept the current price, because he came back out and said something about not being able to say for sure what would happen today. I didn't understand the meaning of his words, but Ross has been to enough of these to know that the bids hadn't yet gone high enough. This started a flurry of bidding between two men, and in the matter of two minutes, the price had been raised by far more than our house in Pittsburgh is worth. Eventually one dropped out, and we heard the words, 'Going, going gone ...'
Not bad entertainment for a Saturday for the dozens who had come to watch the proceedings. I'm just glad I didn't have to participate as either buyer or seller.
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